Reply With QuoteGet multiple quotes from both, you need to find an honest builder with a very good reputation. Easier said than done.
Anyone done it? Wondering whether to go with a "specialist" conversion company or builder?
Footprint is approx 11m × 6m. Hoping for 2 rooms and an ensuite. Budget is £50k - £60k which I think should be sufficient for everything.
Not looking at a dormer arrangement, rather Velux.
If anyone is willing to share photos (by pm if preferred) that would be amazing.
TIA
H
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Get multiple quotes from both, you need to find an honest builder with a very good reputation. Easier said than done.
You should be able to get a dormer within range of your budget, which makes all the difference as even with a 6m span your usable headlight will be limited…
Give a lot of thought as to how the stairs will come up…. Some are obvious, many are not
If you use a builder as opposed to specialist loft contractors, make sure they have direct experience
If you’re detached you’re likely to need scaffolding all the way around the house
Insulate as much as you can, try and exceed regs if you can
First things first get drawings from a draftsman or architect who specialise in such things, you won’t get meaningful quotes without it
We went from this
To this
Ps…. As a compromise check our dormer Velux maybe if you don’t want to go down the dormer route?
https://www.velux.co.uk/products/space-makers/dormer
Can understand the dislike of dormers (and everyone round here seems to be getting one). Unlike traditional windows, now they just look like a shed on top of the house.
I'm paying £56k for a dormer loft conversion in Essex. That includes supply and fit for everything. An allowance of £20 per sqm for tiles for the bathroom. Supply of all windows and fire doors. Including decorating but not flooring.
The loft will have 2 beds and the downstairs box room will have the wall shifted to accommodate stairs and remaining space made into a shower room with WC.
Where are you based
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My sister recently had this done. I believe it cost her 10K all in.
I’m afraid I think most dormers are pig-ugly. If it suits the building and location a mansard conversion will often look better.
My son is in the process of having a loft conversion in Whyteleafe Surrey - I think around 60k, that will give a big bedroom plus en suite.
Cheers,
Neil.
I’d break it up and you’ll save a fortune. 3 joiners had my dormer built within 2 weeks.
Roofers in and done in 2 days.
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10k with a new flight of stairs? That seems like an absolute bargain and more..... All the doors fitted with door closers as well and a proper floor joists put in and good quality insulation?Originally Posted by jaytip
My sister recently had this done. I believe it cost her 10K all in.
@jaytip I'd like the number for those guys please
You wouldn't get the materials for a decent loft conversion for 10k. There's a difference between a building inspector verified conversion than just turning the loft into a room. Without certification you may gain the space but add no legitimate value.
My sister recently had this done. I believe it cost her 10K all in.
I believe from looking your sister got what she paid for.
Quite a difference. In the before pic it looks like next door's garage or shed encroaches on your house. Was that a problem?We went from this
To this
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
It's still added value to a potential purchaser.
Indeed. And even if it did make little monetary value it could well sway a purchaser between this house and a similar one without the added space.
North Wilts
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As I said it does add space. However a decent survey would shred it.
My last house had a very spartan loft conversion, roughly decorated, with power and carpets, but not even any windows. The estate agent dismissed it and called it a boarded loft and the surveyors were less than impressed to put it mildly. But for the eventual buyers it was the deciding factor between buying our house and a couple of others available in the street at the time.
Yep…. I think we added around 60% more living space…
I accept that the dormer is not particularly pretty, but at least the reclaimed Welsh slate softens it a little…. I also think it looks prettier when you recess the dormer more, but that had practical implications for us regarding the stairs and not going through the bathroom…
But, a dormer, from the inside out is the right way to go…. It gives us amazing views of the local church etc. and you can see the seasons change…. I can open the bifolds on our Juliet balcony and read a book on the sofa and get the very last strains of sunlight as we are west facing…. We love it
Well done eagle eyes, the neighbours had their glass blowing studio (AKA garage) re-roofed and it did hang over, we had to be very careful with measurements and it’s just worked… they were amazing, they put up with scaffolding for nearly 5 months spanning their driveway…. You couldn’t hope for more patient neighbours…. They along with our other neighbours are coming round for dinner soon as a further thank you!
Edit…. No…. That’s our old brick coal shed to the right of the pic.
We tore it down cleaned up the bricks and used them to build the extension…. Our 67 year old bricke (builders Dad) used some of the coal scarred bricks face up as a nod and wink to where they came from…. He didn’t even ask, he just felt it was the right thing to do!!!
Last edited by Wolfie; 23rd October 2022 at 19:34.
Pps OP…. Check fire regs…. You’ll need a hard wired interlinked fire alarm system if you’re going to 3 floors…. We ended up having a full commercial system installed so we could keep the original Edwardian doors, without messing around with them too much
Some estate agents are less picky…. I viewed an awful open loft conversion coming off the garage described as two further bedrooms…. I was furious with estate agent; as it was wasting everyone’s time as it could never be a legal conversion
They even had the temerity to become quite upperty about the whole thing “but, his grandchildren sleep here”
No idea if I’m honest but I presume it was all done to the required standard as the builder who did It does a lot of work like this and has been around for years and built up a decent reputation.
I’m not sure if you are suggesting it’s a crap job or something but she’s happy with it and it fits her needs.
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No idea if I’m honest but I presume it was all done to the required standard as the builder who did It does a lot of work like this and has been around for years and built up a decent reputation.
I’m not sure if you are suggesting it’s a crap job or something but she’s happy with it and it fits her needs.
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Then its perfect and is good value.
Has the roof raised on my old property, didn’t want a dormer and they provided us with two good rooms and and extra en-suite. Depending on the size of dormer you’ll need planning permission.
Was about 10 years ago and cost 30k - came in handy when we got divorced and I moved up there until it sold. The house went very quickly, part of the attraction was the extra space, so got the money back.
Used a specialist firm, looks like they are still on the go.
https://www.tvmlofts.co.uk/
They did travel all over the country at the time.
I've been watching 'Homes under the hammer' for years and I was (am) always amazed about the fact that only a handful of home owners use the attic space.
Attic/loftconversions are done in 99% of the homes in the Netherlands. It's a complete industry, I tell you. Planning permission is a 'must' and that has to do with the looks. Before you know it, there's a pigeon loft on top of your home... Belgium is also known for its innovative attic/loftconversions.
Velux is the first port of call and they have some innovative products. I would certainly have a good look.
Then there are dormers. Often prefab and installed in a day. But there are some interesting alternatives. Think about this:
And look what they did with the roof of this simple farm:
Did you avoid having to fit fire doors & hinges with self-closers and intumescent strips throughout the property?
I've been watching 'Homes under the hammer' for years and I was (am) always amazed about the fact that only a handful of home owners use the attic space.
Attic/loftconversions are done in 99% of the homes in the Netherlands. It's a complete industry, I tell you. Planning permission is a 'must' and that has to do with the looks. Before you know it, there's a pigeon loft on top of your home... Belgium is also known for its innovative attic/loftconversions.
Velux is the first port of call and they have some innovative products. I would certainly have a good look.
Then there are dormers. Often prefab and installed in a day. But there are some interesting alternatives. Think about this:
And look what they did with the roof of this simple farm:
I think the real issue in the UK are the planners. In my experience they're not welcoming of innovation and progression. They seem to favour 1930s style looking houses. The designs you posted -especially the lift roof with glass I bet most planners in the UK would turn down.
Historically they always wanted extensions sympathetic to the original building , now they're more accepting of modern contrasting extensions. However recently I submitted a pre app for a modern designed renovation of my house. They were not favourable of it at all. Used "not in keeping with the street scene" - despite my road not having a street scene as its well over a few hundred years old and houses have been built own stages over the the years so we have everything from listed buildings to modern 1980s houses. Then the new builds made to look old too.
Or "over bearing" is another one used all the time.
I find planners don't often share the joy or enthusiasm of modern architecture.
Last edited by eagletower; 24th October 2022 at 07:28.
If im not mistaken im pretty sure one of the members here did a diy loft conversion, did most of it himself. This was before Covid i think and didnt cost a lot in the grand scheme of things.
We bought a purpose built 3 story house having seen plenty of loft/dormer conversions with ridiculously low ceilings - me and my eldest son are both 6 foot 2 and most of the houses we looked at with conversions were comically low - and a couple required limbo dancing skills I’d struggle with at 53! - either get it done to a decent height or don’t bother imho!
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Getting any form of consent is the same as playing the lottery. Most of the time you loose. We wanted to upgrade a chicken coop into a studio. (I've shown pics on the forum) Everybody told us that there was no chance that we would be successful. But we got permission in one day (one afternoon to be exact).
My neighbour wanted something special, something new. It took him the best part of two years and he hired an architect who did/does a lot of work for the council. The house was completed in Dec 2020. Now, two years later, people who use the public footpath in front of the house still comment and moan about it. You can't stay in last century's 30s. In that, British and Dutch planners are not far apart when it comes to allowing modern vs 30s style homes.
Lots of people here use a loft conversion for the central heating / hot water boiler as well. Back in the 80s, I used to live in a brand-new house that I rented. In the attic, there was complete plumbing and electrics for the washing machine and dryer as well. Knowing that a lot of British homes have the washing machine in the kitchen (Homes under the hammer again...), it's perhaps an idea to have at least the plumbing etc in place for that as well when you re-do your attic.
That's very aesthetically pleasing to my eyes. I really like the visual story that a property tells in terms of its development of old mixed with new. Modern day repurposing almost and can be fantastic.
^^^ This ^^^
The lady who used to live here was a garden designer who had a plant nursery as well. Her family continues the nursery.
The architect has done something I wouldn't have considered myself. That's always good! An architectural surprise is always great.
Last summer, I spotted a house in Flandres with another surprising solution. Sadly, I don't have a pic. Imagine a similar-style house with the roof partly dismantled, but with the end gable still in place. In stead of a new roof, the old one was redone for 50- 75%, the other part was a horizontal shipping container(-ish) contraption on top of the existing lower walls! The 'shipping container' had as much glass as possible and had an overhang (is that the correct phrase) on eighter side of the house, supported with pillars.
While writing this, I realized that my English lacks a lot of expressions of the building trade, so I made a quick sketch, not drawn to scale of course. The combination of brick of the old part and black powder coated window frames and support pillars made quite an impression
Last edited by thieuster; 24th October 2022 at 11:20.
Menno, as always your English is excellent and that is one VERY unusual 'extension'!
I see. I just wondered as at a previous house a neighbour moved the boundary before we moved in, to give himself room for a lean to summer room. I spotted the mark on the wall where the fence had been, checked the deeds and told him I was moving it back. He said if I did he would sue me, take me to court, etc etc. Just moved it back anyway and never heard a peep out of him. Later another neighbour told me he had told them he was going to move it, before anyone moved in, to capture an extra metre of space. Lucky I did move it back as when we later had an extension it would have made life very difficult. Looking at your picture reminded me of that!
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Agree. In June we saw an update in Building Regs too which means the amount of insulation required in a dormer conversion is insane. We're putting in a mix of Kingspan rigid insulation, superquilt foil backed insulation and insulated plaster boards. None of which comes cheap. At £80 a sheet of Kingspan you'll soon be upto £1k insulation alone.
Both our loft spaces are converted to a nice room standard but neither is building regs approved; this was done before we moved in.
It's not considered "habitable space" and does not contribute to the valuations as they are just loft spaces and were listed as such in the sale details ... but at a practical level the spaces are useful and were a contributary factor to us buying the house.
Because of the layout of the house and the restrictions of a conservation area it would have been impossible to do it and meet the planning and building regs so I guess the previous owner just took a view... so on paper we just have nice loft spaces ... suits us.
Love to be able to do a loft conversion to have as my office. I just have so much timber roof joists all over the place, I can’t see how it could be done.
Get a certified builder in, or a surveyor. You'll be amazed what can be re-routed when it comes to load-bearing joists etc. I guess that with all those joist, proper isolation is far off. The perfect moment to have that done as well. With the current energy prices a sound investment. And, when isolating from the inside, you can do it yourself. That saves a lot of labour costs.
Reading through this thread, I understand that there's something like a Building Regs and non-Building Regs loft. I would most certainly do the B.R. route. Now, more expensive but when you want to sell the house, it could proof to be a worthwhile investment! Adding an official bedroom, home office or even a bathroom to the existing house can easily be more valuable than the cost of the whole conversion. In short: making a profit.
Our previous house had 6 bedrooms, 2 in the attic/loft. We offered one bedroom on the first floor to turn it in an immense bathroom + wet room for the washer and dryer. What was left were 5 bedrooms. We sold the house within 12 hrs after it had hit the market (That was before the whole real estate market here was in overdrive).
Last edited by thieuster; 24th October 2022 at 14:35.
You won’t need planning on most garden facing dormers…. It falls within permitted development
As long as you don’t go above you’re existing ridge height
Oh blimey…. There are some right dodgy people out there! My neighbours are ace fortunately…
Yes, yes I did…. I had a full battery backed L1 commercial fire alarm system and panel with fire resistant cable and 15 detectors covering every room and circulation space
I still fitted a fire door in the loft, as it was a sensible thing to do
It all stemmed from the building inspector seeing two period glazed internal doors and telling me I needed to change them…! There was no way that was happening
It’s unreal…. I can’t believe they put VAT on it too
I used this place https://www.secondsandco.co.uk/deliveredboards
All slight seconds - was quite a big saving
They pretty much replace the roof at the same time and re-tile afterwards…. Rebuild the whole floor to support too
Many just hang FD30,'s get signed off then rehang the old ones
To be done properly to building regs ,you need steels in the floor and 1 on the ridge .
I done a few in central London and come in at 60-70k depending on spec.
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Yeah…. I know, but seeing as I work in life safety, I don’t think that was a plan!
I’m guessing it could impact your insurance too?
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